


Weekend At Martha's Vineyard

by WordsSpillFromMyOpenVeins_89



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family Bonding, Fluff and Smut, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-05-14 20:14:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14776520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsSpillFromMyOpenVeins_89/pseuds/WordsSpillFromMyOpenVeins_89
Summary: Mulder Family Weekend Vacation In Martha's Vineyard.





	1. The Arrival

Mulder turned the ignition off, glanced up at the rear-view mirror and noticed that William had fallen asleep, his floppy auburn hair covering his eyes and most of his face. He nudged Scully, who was still reading the most recent issue of AMJ on her iPhone. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled at the adorable six year old stretched out on the back seat of the SUV.

"You wake the Lil Monster and I'll get our bags", Mulder leaned over the centre console, squeezed her thigh and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Will...", Scully patted William on the knee "It's time to wake up, honey"

She was promptly licked by the overly protective, chocolate colored Labrador curled up next to him.

When William was a toddler and without the ability to give him a sibling, Mulder had insisted on going to adopt a puppy; Ishmael. Scully and Mulder had chosen the name, because of a shared love of the book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

"Mommy?", William blinked, slowly sat up and looked at Scully through sleepy eyes.

"Did you have a nice nap?", Scully reached out with her left hand, brushed the overly long bangs out of William face and smiled. She also made a mental note to take him to the barber shop when they got back to D.C.

Ishmael sat up and looked out of the back window, watching Mulder as he hopped out of the drivers side door and walked around the back to retrieve their luggage from the trunk.

"I dreamed... that I got lost... on a farm. Uhm. Ishy found me", William threw his arms around Ishmael's furry neck and cuddled him.

Scully still missed the days when William used to call him, Wishy. In that way all toddlers speak, because they haven't learnt to talk and enunciate properly yet. She also missed unprompted cuddles and "I love yous"

"Were you scared?", Scully was curious about how William dealt with such a dream.

"Nah. I knew you and Daddy would find me. I think.. I think you told Ishy to come find me", William looked at Scully with confident, ocean colored eyes.

Scully opened the car door, stepping back to avoid Ishmael as he jumped down onto the gravel driveway and offered her hand to William (who was still coming around after the long trip up to the Vineyard) to use as leverage but he just shook his head at her and jumped down.

"Wait on the porch with Ishy, please, Will", Scully ran her hand through his hair, after shutting the back door behind him.

William carried his backpack, the straps dragging along the sand covered gravel, up to the porch and waited patiently by Ishmael.

Scully helped Mulder with the luggage, and their other vacation belongings. Including her beach chair, and the large beach umbrella that Scully and William needed because of their pale, Irish skin. A problem Mulder didn't have.

"Why do we continue to shuttle all these suit cases up here every summer?", Mulder yanked the last piece of luggage out of the trunk.

"I really don't know, Mulder", Scully took the car keys and fob from the back pocket of Mulder's jeans.

"Maybe we should start leaving some of the essentials here..." Mulder dragged two of the suitcases onto the tiny front porch and dropped them off next to William and Ishmael "It would save time, on the packing and unpacking portions of these trips"

Mulder walked down the brief set of steps and back to the SUV, to collect the other bags.

"I suppose it would. The stuff we use at the beach is definitely taking up way too much space back home", Scully used the fob to the close the trunk and followed Mulder to the porch.

Scully unlocked the front door, flicked the switch on the wall to turn the dimmer lights on and let William and Ishy into the house. Scully carried a duffle bag inside with her, while Mulder dropped the suitcases in the foyer and continued on to the lounge room to get the fireplace ready, because it was a bit chilly in the bungalow.


	2. The Goodnight

Ishmael stretched, yawned and laid down beside Mulder as he packed small pieces of wood and paper into the fireplace, before flipping his lighter and blowing on the growing flames. Scully moved the suitcases closer to the stairs, placed the duffle bag on them and carried the beach chairs and Umbrella to the sliding door that opened onto the grassy backyard.

"Water?", Scully looked over at the fireplace, at her boys "Mulder, do you want a beer? "

They both nodded without looking up, or answering. They were caveman-ing at the moment, mesmerized by the fire. Scully smiled to herself, walked over to the kitchen and collected their beverages.

"Daddy?", William was leaning on Mulder's back, arms loosely hanging around his neck, watching as the flames grew in the fireplace.

"Yeah?"

"Rockets have fire in them..."

"Yeah, sort of. It's actually a lot of different chemicals that combine to make the flames, that thrust the ship into Space. It's called combustion", tugging on William's hands, making him giggle. Mulder turned around and smiled at his son.

"Oh"

"When we get back home, before school starts... I think we should take a trip to the Air and Space Museum, at the Smithsonian", Mulder tapped William on the chin with his knuckles "What do you think?"

"Yeah!", a giant grin began to appear on William's face.

Scully came back with a plastic tumbler of water, a bottle of beer and a glass of red wine. Mulder took the beer from Scully's outstretched arm and then sat down on the couch next to her.

"Making plans without me?", Scully had a sip from her glass.

"Can Mommy come to the Museum with us?"

"Would you like to come with us?", Mulder turned to face Scully, and pushed one of the braids off her shoulder.

"If I don't have work, I would love to join you"

It was starting to get warm and stuffy in the lounge room, so Scully removed her oversized sweater and tossed it on the winged armchair, opposite her. Mulder gave an appreciative glance the low cut tank top, that she had been hiding the entire trip up to Chilmark. There was a look, a definite look, from Scully that caused Mulder to direct his attention back to the happy little family image before him.

William was laying on his stomach, in front of the fireplace, the contents of his backpack scattered around him; Lego, a sketch book and PSP (PlayStation Portable).

"What are you drawing, slugger?", Mulder asked.

William had been scribbling in his art book, for the last twenty minutes and both Mulder and Scully had become curious.

"THIS!", William held up the sketch pad, for Mulder and Scully to see his artwork.

It was a UFO, with a tiny little Alien in the pilot's seat. They both laughed.

"Will. Honey, are you sleepy?", Scully peered over the coffee table and noticed that William was resting his head on his crossed arms.

"Nope", William shook his head.

"Excuse you?"

"Sorry, Mommy", William gave Scully his best innocent face and then went back to outlining Ishmael's paw on one of the blank pages of his pad.

"I remember that look from Samantha", Mulder quipped, and then looked to the ceiling thoughtfully.

Scully and Mulder cuddled together on the sofa. Mulder kissed the top of Scully's head. Less then ten minutes later, William was fast asleep on the floor and snoring with Ishy next to him.

Mulder pat the back of William's head, ran his hand down is back, feeling the rise and fall of his tiny chest.

"Oof. Don't know how much longer I'll be able to do this, bud. You're growing up", Mulder whispered against his floppy auburn hair.

Mulder reached out his right arm, to brace against the wall before taking the last two steps up to the second level of the Hamptons Style Bungalow.

Mulder carried William up to his bedroom, unlaced his converse sneakers and placed them on the floor, at the foot of the bed. Carefully covering William with the Van Gogh Starry Starry Night bedspread and tucking the edges under him, to keep him warm.

"Love you, Will", Mulder said as he brushed the matted bangs from his sweet, little face and kissed his forehead.

Scully was leaning against the kitchen island, refilled wine glass in hand, when Mulder appeared from around the corner.


	3. The Connection

It suddenly occurred to him, that the "look" she gave him earlier was the wine kicking in. Scully rarely drank red wine anymore because she could never account for her behaviour afterwards. What Mulder assumed would be a quite night in was going to become rather interesting, if the past was anything to go by.

"Hey...", Scully said in a low, sultry voice.

Mulder regarded her from the bottom of the stairs, and tried to suppress a grin.

"Hello to you, too. How are you feelin'?", Mulder said, staring at her.

Scully was wearing tight black leggings, a navy colored low cut tank top and boots. Her hair was in two long red braids, resting on her shoulders and her visible chest, was flushed. She looked INCREDIBLE!

Mulder took a couple steps towards her, grinning.

"I might be a little tipsy", Scully said, nonchalantly, and took another sip of the sweet red liquid and put the wine glass down, very gingerly.

"Yeah?"

Mulder was now standing by the refrigerator, about two feet away from Scully.

"It was a loooong drive, Mulder", she reached out and tugged on Mulder's grey t-shirt, attempting to pull him closer "Thank you for taking William upstairs to bed"

"The kid is getting heavy, Scully", Mulder stretched his arms above his head.

Mulder's t-shirt rose and Scully leered, openly, at his abdomen and the V just peeking over the top of his blue jeans.

"I know", Scully sighed.

Mulder smiled at her, took her in his arms and breathed in (she smelled of lavender bath oils and hope). Scully nestled her face against Mulder's chest, listening to his heart beat. Mulder started running his hands up and down Scully's back. She lifted her face and he kissed her forehead.

"So, you wanna go..."

"Nope", Scully gently pushed Mulder away and grinned up at him.

That was ALL he needed, from her, in the way of a green light.

Mulder pushed her up against the large, wooden kitchen island and kissed, all over her flushed, heaving chest. Scully ran her hands through his floppy hair and moaned against his temple.

He lifted her up and placed her on the island, snaked a arm around her waist and grinded his cock into her pelvis. Scully leaned back, on her hands, accidently knocking the wine glass.

"Careful", Mulder grabbed the glass and put in the sink.

Scully laughed at him.

Mulder just looked at with a mock scowl and picked up where he left off... slipping both hands down to her arse, pulling her to him again.

"Mm", Scully could feel him and it sent a warm rush through her body.

Mulder tugged her leggings, kissing down her inner thighs, until he them around her ankles.

"And what are these, Miss Scully?", Mulder smiled up at her from between her thighs.

She had on a pair of black lacy bikini briefs, that did things to Mulder and that didn't match with the more relaxed outfit she had on.

"Didn't have time to do laundry", Scully shook her head, unfazed.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't have the time" Mulder raised his eyebrows, confused "Never thought I'd say those words"

Scully giggled. Not having the time to do laundry before their trip certainly paid off for Mulder.

"Why don't we take this upstairs?" 

Scully was starting to get antsy, and wrapped her legs around Mulder's hips.

"Lets", Scully put her hands on Mulder's shoulders and kissed him, softly on the lips.

He held her hand as she slid off the kitchen island.

"Okay, let's go tipsy McGee"

Mulder rested his left hand on the small of Scully's back, as they made their way upstairs to their bedroom.

"Are you ready, Mulder?", Scully kicked her boots off, and slowly walked towards Mulder.

"Honestly, not sure..."

Mulder removed his t-shirt and began to unbutton his jeans... but she grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"Ok. Definitely, not ready"

Scully stood on her tip toes, and kissed Mulder's jaw and clavicle.

"I'll be gentle", whispered Scully.

"Goddamn"

Scully trailed her index finger down Mulder's chest, stopping above his unbuttoned jeans and slid the zipper down.

"Are you going to let me touch you?", he tried to pull her closer, to him but she wriggled out of his embrace.

"Mm. Maybe. If you're good..."

Mulder had been hard since they basically dry humped in the in the kitchen, downstairs. He was a ticking time bomb, ready to go off.

"Until then... no touching. 'kay?"

"Yes, ma'am", Mulder just stood there, waiting... for whatever Scully had planned.

Scully lowered Mulder's denim jeans down, to his feet and slid her tiny hand down the front of his black boxer briefs. She was breathing heavily against the hollow of his throat, and he reached out to loop his arms around her was waist but was stopped.

"Sit", she gently pushed him down onto the bed, dropped to her knees and yanked his boxers further down his legs. Mulder looked up at the ceiling fan and took a deep breath.

Scully held Mulder's cock in her hand, pumping up and down a few times (pre-cum bubbling at his tip already) before wrapping her pouty, red lips around it.

Mulder subconsciously began playing with her braids "Mm. God, Scully. That feels SO good", trying to stall himself from coming too soon.

He even tried to think of Baseball stats but every little lick and swirl of the tongue from Scully etched away at his ability to control what was coming.

Mulder was now unintentionally using her braids like reigns... he looked down and watched Scully's head as it moved up and down, repeatedly, in his lap.

Scully hollowed her cheeks and sucked harder, taking him in deeper into her throat.

"Fuck. Scully...", Mulder started to laugh.

Scully squeezed his thighs, let his cock slip from her lips and looked up at him, through lustful and confused eyes.

"What?"

"No. It's nothing. I just...", Mulder picked up the braids and swung them about in front of her face "I was using them in a not wholesome way"

"Oh"

Scully went back to what she was doing, and almost three minutes later Mulder was coming in her mouth. She swallowed, slowly rose from her knees and Mulder grabbed her, holding her firmly in front of him, by the hips.

"Jesus, Scully...", Scully lowered herself onto his bare lap and locked her arms around his neck, resting her head on her arm and his shoulder "that was amazing!"

"I thought so", Scully smiled coyly.

"I love you", Mulder kissed her breathlessly and a little desperately, now that he could touch her again.


	4. The Morning

Sunlight was streaming through the half open shutters, on the small square windows on the left wall in their master bedroom.

Mulder blinked and stretched his legs (carefully, he didn't want to wake the beautiful red-head next to him before she was ready), his right arm was still draped over Scully's tiny waist.

Mulder smiled, closed his eyes and breathed in, deeply. The idea that this was his life was still somewhat unbelievable... to him, but he was grateful every day that Scully stuck by him and offered him, his very own little family.

The previous night swam lazily through his mind; the mind-blowing orgasm, the tender kisses and falling asleep in each others entangled embrace.

Unpredictable Scully was always a delight.

Mulder brushed some strands of loose hair from her face, he preferred her sans make up, the more natural look. He liked to see the beauty spot above her top lip, and the freckles that dotted her face.

"You're so beautiful, Scully. You have no idea how much I love you..", whispered Mulder as he ran his thumb over Scully's cheekbone, like he had done many times before.

Scully began to stir...

Mulder watched as her eyes flickered behind their lids. She let out a tiny moan, and his eyes lit up. Scully was his touchstone, his constant, his one in EIGHT billion and his best friend. The only woman he would EVER love, and protect with his life.

"Mulder...", Scully slowly opened her eyes and looked at him, their faces an inch apart, as he stared adoringly at her in the daylight.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, you just looked so adorable"

"It's fine", Scully stretched, yawned and rested her right palm on Mulder's cheek.

"Thank you...", Mulder slipped an arm under her head and another around her waist, pulling her body flush against his "for last night"

She closed her eyes, buried her head in the crook between his neck and shoulder.

"Last night...", Scully sighed.

"Yeah. I owe you one", Mulder laughed.

"Why do you still let me drink that stuff?"

Scully tilted her face up, and looked at him seriously.

"If there's one thing I know about you, it's that no one can stop you from doing something when you put your mind to it"

"I hate that about me..."

"Shut up"

They both started laughing.

Mulder kissed her forehead, and then her lips. Scully was still laughing when he kissed her, and she tickled his side by scratching her nails down it.

"Ok. Time to get up, Mulder"

"Why?", Mulder whined.

"Because Will will be up soon...", Scully started to get out of the bed, but Mulder grabbed at her hip as she turned away from him.

She was still in her tank top, but missing her leggings (her arse was visible through her lace underwear) which had come off after she washed her mouth out in the bathroom sink and they crawled into bed together... spooning. The perfect fit.

"Hey, come back to bed", Mulder moved across to Scully's empty side of the bed and looked at her with puppy dog eyes "just for a minute. Please?"

"I need to pee, and I really need to brush my teeth", Scully smiled and pointed at said smile with her index finger, to prove her point.

He watched Scully while she peed, brushed her teeth and spat the excess toothpastey water out into the bathroom sink turning the tap on to wash away, from the comfort of their warm bed.

Mulder put on a pair of grey sweatpants, while Scully threw on a pair of denim short shorts.

Mulder and Scully were in the kitchen, preparing breakfast when William came bounding down the stairs, in his pajama bottoms and a white singlet (the same outfit he wore on the trip, minus a pullover sweater)

"Ishy!", William squealed. Ishmael charged at William, his tail wagging furiously, and they entered the kitchen together.

"And so it begins..."

Mulder laughed, and looked at William. The kid always woke up with more energy than both of them combined.

"Good morning, sleepyhead...", Scully said when William cuddled up to her, while she was flipping pancakes on the old style stove "Did you sleep well? No dreams?"

"I don't 'member"

Mulder made William and Ishmael sit down at the table (because they were getting under Scully's feet) while he got a tumblr of orange juice for Will and some dog biscuits for Ishy.

"Which one, kiddo?", Mulder was standing in the kitchen and held up two boxes of cereal, fruit loops and cornflakes.

"I want both!"

Scully looked over at William, then to Mulder and winced. William had inherited Mulder's very disturbing eating habits.

"What about pancakes? You can't possibly eat all of it, Will"

Scully tried to talk William out of the decision, and Mulder jumped in to help.

"I think Mommy is right. Pick one"

"Fruit loops, please", William replied, choosing the more sugary of the two.

"Well, you can't win them all" Mulder looked at Scully, laughed and rubbed the small of her back before pouring the fruit loops into and plastic bowl.

They sat down to eat, and Mulder noticed that the gold cross around Scully's neck had become tangled in her loose braids, so he moved it back to it's rightful place. Scully looked at Mulder, with so much adoration and love, that his heart literally skipped a beat and he had to take a breath.

"Are you excited to go down to the beach later?", Scully tussled William's hair.

"Uh huh", William was shovelling pieces of pancake into his mouth.

"Slow down, slugger", Mulder smiled.

Mulder had surprised Scully, just after William's first birthday with a trip up the Vineyard. In the months leading up to the surprise, he had been gathering information, covertly, from Scully about what her dream vacation home would look like. When they arrived at 1013 Archet Cove, Chilmark, with a one year old Will asleep in his car seat, Mulder had given Scully the keys to the front door and told her it was theirs. Forever. She was shocked, impressed and happy to have a place to get away to. Archet Cove was a green, leafy tree lined street with beautiful old houses lining either side, and those old fashioned gas lights, that had been update to electric decades ago. The bungalow was set back and down a slightly longer driveway than the rest of the homes. The edge of the property bordered a slope that led down some wooden plank stairs, to the white sandy beach below. They had been coming here every year, since the summer of 2002, for varying amounts of time; anywhere between a weekend and the whole summer, back when William was a toddler. And they would sit down on the beach, watching the sunset every night with William on a towel, dug into a hole in the sand so he didn't get any ideas of trying to wobble away from them.


	5. The Beach

"Go change. Hurry"

"Ok, Mommy"

William raced up to his room, to change into his swimming clothes and Mulder followed Scully up to their bedroom. Before Scully could shimmy out of her denim short shorts, Mulder grabbed her by her hips and pulled her to him.

"I like these..." Mulder tugged on the denim shorts "You should wear them more often"

"Thanks. Yeah? ", Scully looped her arms around Mulder's neck, stood on her tip toes and kissed him.

"Oh yeah", Mulder grinned against her lips.

Scully found her bikini, and went to the bathroom to change into it. Mulder just stood in the middle of their room, entranced, until he heard Scully coming back out of the bathroom and he quickly grabbed his board shorts and pulled them on.

"Ready?", Scully smiled.

"Uh, yeah", Mulder said, ogling her.

Scully was carrying a beach bag full of towels, extra clothes (if needed) and a book to read, hung over her right shoulder. She was holding William's hand, who was lugging a boogyboard along behind him. Mulder was walking beside them, a gigantic rainbow colored beach umbrella leaning against his broad chest and a fold out chair in his free hand.

The sand was warm between their toes and they could hear the sound of crashing waves hit their ears, every few minutes. Mulder was shirtless, and in a pair of red board shorts. William was wearing black board shorts and a short sleeved, dark purple rasher.

They'd just stepped off the bottom plank of the stairs, when suddenly William let go of Scully's hand, chasing after Ishmael and ran off towards the shoreline, a half a mile away.

"Will, come back! You need to put sunblock on or you'll burn", Scully shouted at their wayward son.

"OK!"

William planted himself to the spot he landed (Ishy running circles around him, guarding him) when he heard his mother yell for him to come back, and waited for both of his parents to catch up. They looked at each other, their unspoken communication kicking in; this kid was only going to become more difficult to handle as he got older.

Scully pulled a large beach blanket from the bag, threw it put on the ground and watched as Mulder planted the umbrella in the sand.

"Stand still, it's not going to be even if you keep wriggling", Scully pushed William's arms down by his sides, massaging sunblock into them and then wiped her slimey hands on his face.

"Yuck!", grimaced William.

"Yuck? Okay, I'm done. Go...", Scully smiled and patted his back "have fun but be careful and stay close to the shoreline, please?"

William ran off again, Ishmael hot on his heels... barking, happily.

Mulder unfolded the beach chair, put a towel over it (for Scully) and then sat down on the blanket next to her. Scully searched the beach bag for a book to read, opening it to the last page she was on (occasionally, looking up to see William frolicking in the foamy, calm surf) while Mulder stretched out on his back a beach blanket between him and the hot sand. Ishmael was sitting next to him, panting, after following Will to the water and bolting back, at Mulder's whistle.

"Keep an eye on William, will you? I don't want him going too far out, he's not the best swimmer", Scully asked, patting Mulder's hand that was resting on her upper thigh.

"Sounds like swimming lessons are in his future. Don't you miss when he was portable, and couldn't run off without us noticing?", Mulder quipped.

"No, because I had to carry him everywhere. It was tiring, Mulder", Scully bemoaned, brows furrowed.

"It's only gonna get worse, isn't it?"

Scully nodded.

"Yes. You're going to worry about him for the rest of your life"

Scully was relaxing on the fold out chair, reading 'Beautiful Wasps Having Sex' by Dori Carter. Mulder was laying on a beach towel next to her, keeping an eye on William in the surf.

"MOMMY! LOOK!"

William was riding his boogyboard back to shore on a small wave. Scully smiled, widely and waved at him, to let him know that she saw him. Ishmael ran towards the surf, to greet William.

"THAT WAS AWESOME, WILL!", Mulder called out and touched Scully's thigh, smiling at her.

"Can you go ask Will if he's ready for lunch?"

"On it, gorgeous"

Scully smiled.

Mulder stood up, and walked over to the patch of sand that William had set up as his own.

"Hungry, bud?", Mulder crouched down near William.

"Yeah"

"Let's go. You can leave your toys there, I'll keep watch"

Mulder took the lids off a variety of a small containers full of cheese, salami, fruit and avocado dip. Scully tore open a bag of crackers, and spread them out on a plastic display plate.

"Did you have fun?", Scully handed William a grape flavored juice box "It looked like you were having fun!"

"Yeah!", William smiled and stuck the straw into his juice box.

Mulder and William were tucking in, and Scully was just eating crackers with avocado dip.

"Salami?", Mulder dangled a slice of salami from his fingers, offering it to Scully.

Scully shook her head, and forced a smile. Mulder wondered what was up, but didn't press the issue. In the past, Scully had in indulged in some interesting, to say the least, fad diets. Including bee pollen yogurt.

"You should take that off..", Mulder pointed at the linen slip covering Scully "and try to get a tan"

Scully was wearing a teal colored bikini, with a white see through linen slip over the top. Mulder assumed the slip had more to do with modesty than age, because she was only 43 and still unbelievably, smoking hot. He would open up an X File on it, if they were still FBI agents.

"A tan?", Scully questioned, incredulously.

"Seriously? Scully, you're a babe!", Mulder opened a bag of sunflower seeds, popped one in his mouth and smiled.

"Yeah. Mommy, you're SO pretty", William smiled.

Scully's heart melted. Compliments weren't normally her thing, but when Will would tell her she looked pretty or that he loved her, it was everything.

"See? Will agrees with me! Take it off", Mulder started pulling at the slip.

"Nope...", Scully hugged it tighter to her body "and you can't make me. Plus, I'd probably burn"

"Sorry. As long as that's the only reason...", he looked at her pointedly, trying to make sure nothing else was the matter"if it's possible, you're even more gorgeous than when we met and I personally think, that you should flaunt it"

Scully readjusted the braid that was hanging over her left shoulder and a small smile graced her lips.

"That's sweet, really. I'm fine" , Scully ran her tongue across her plump, red bottom lip, in that way that turned Mulder on.

William was shaking Ishy's paw, not even paying attention to the unspoken conversation. Mulder stood up, then immediately dropped to his knees and kissed Scully, softly, on the cheek.

"Good...", Mulder turned back to William "Hey, Will. Wanna help me build a sandcastle?"

"Okay, Daddy. Can Ishy help us?", William grinned.

Scully watched as Mulder, William and Ishmael walked back over to the spot where all the toys were deposited earlier.

"Another level?", Mulder asked, surprised. The castle was almost as tall as Ishy, but William wasn't finished yet. He wanted a moat too.

"Yeah...", William raised his arms above his head "I want it to be this high"

Mulder laughed.

And they filled three different shaped buckets up with handfuls of sand and began creating the giant multi-layered castle of William's dreams.

Scully put her book down, and watched on happy and amused by her boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update (August 22nd 2018) - I'm so grateful that people are still reading this story and I swear there are 5 more chapters (that are and have been in various degrees of written-ness since I posted this story) to come. I've just gotten really distracted by other stories I've written over the last few months but this will be finished... hopefully, before the end of the year.


	6. The Dinner

"No, stop right there..." Scully said, sliding the large glass door to the backyard open so fast it almost came off it's hinges "not. another. step. Stay!"

She had removed the white linen slip and changed back into the denim short shorts but with a lilac colored long sleeve sweatshirt, in place of the navy blue tank top from earlier. Mulder could see the ties of her teal bikini top hanging over the sweater and smiled inwardly. She hadn't joined them in the surf, but was still wearing her bikini even now when she could've changed into something else.

"What? Why?" Mulder looked at her quizzically and lazily tousled William's still wet, and very sandy mop of auburn hair.

William and Mulder were practically covered head to toe in sand (from building their giant sandcastle down on the beach), and Scully wasn't about to let them spread it throughout the whole house. She stood there on the threshold, her boys outside waiting patiently to be let in.

"Mommy?" William looked at Scully and then up at Mulder, confused.

"I'm sorry, Will" Scully softly smiled at her adorable young son and quickly shot a look at Mulder "Daddy should know better. Have you even looked at yourselves?"

Mulder looked down at himself and down at his mini-me, William.

"What, the sand? Scully, it's nothing"

"It's not nothing, Mulder. It's dirty! Not to mention it could get into the rug or on the sofa. You've brought back half the beach between the two of you and I'm not letting you in until I know the house will stay clean..." Scully looked at her boys and put her hand up, barring their way into the still spotless vacation house "help Will, please! Ishmael too"

"Okay, buddy. We should go hose off before Mommy has a coronary" Mulder sighed, made a face at Scully and put his hand on William's shoulder, squeezing it lightly and walking him to the middle of the lawn.

"Thank you" Scully offered as an apology for her maddening obsession with being tidy, as she leaned out of the door and ran a hand down his bicep, gratefully.

This side of Scully was borne out of her medical training, all hospital corners and extreme cleanliness. His obsessive, hoarder tendencies didn't mesh with this but they made it work. They loved each other, completely... quirks and all. There was no one else in the world who would happily put up with the other.

"ISHY!" William shouted.

Ishy appeared out of nowhere at the sound of his voice, running up the wooden stairs from the beach where he had wandered back down to while Scully admonished Mulder and William.

"Close your eyes and stand very still, buddy. Ready?"

"I'M READY!"

Mulder made William stand on the old stone pathway between the patches of grass, (eyes closed and arms in the air above him) hosing him down and then turned it on himself while periodically spraying Ishy as he ran around them both, barking at the water.

Scully stood on the otherside of the glass (the house silent, a silence she had come to loathe since having William), watching Mulder whip the backyard hose around while William and Ishy got soaked by the intense spray down. She couldn't hear much but the occasional scream leaked through, and could see that they were laughing.

Mulder picked William up and swung him around as he slowly slipped free of his grip, they were both laughing and Ishy was jumping up on them both. Scully sucked in a deep breath as she watched William start to fall, then closed her eyes and breathed out when Mulder caught him against his chest and hip.

"I think you should have a bath before dinner, Will" Scully suggested, kissing the top of his head and running her index finger over his lightly freckled cheekbone.

"Mommy... Can I have bubbles?"

"Of course, baby. Not too much, though. Remember what happened last time... when you used the whole bottle?"

"I disappeared" William giggled, jumped up from the sofa and bolted upstairs to get cleaned up and ready for dinner. When he was four years old, Scully had made the mistake of turning her back on him (just for a second) and he seized the opportunity of her carelessness, dumping the whole bottle of Superman bubble bath into the tub with him. It had quickly gotten out of control, bubbles and water covering the Ordinary House' bathroom floor. And William had indeed been briefly consumed by an overload of sweet apple smelling bubbles.

Mulder had dried Ishy off before deciding to take him with him for the quick trip into town, to pick up some groceries from the store for dinner and was just walking back through the front door as William headed up for his bubble bath.

"We're back"

Scully and Mulder watched as Ishmael followed after William.

"Did they have everything?"

"Everything we didn't have... and needed, yes. I'm pretty good at this foraging for food thing, Scully"

"If you say so" Scully offered and placed a soft thankful kiss on the corner of Mulder's mouth while sliding her hand down, gently grazing his right hip along the way, to take the reusable net shopping bag from his hand "I'm going to make sure those two don't make another mess, but then I'll be starting dinner"

She was trying not to down play these little achievements of his; it taken a few years (and some hilarious and frustrasting mistakes) but now he was completely capable of going to the grocery store alone, as long as the shopping list was short and concice, no room for distractions and could also do minor plumbling fixes around the house. Which was a major step up from his only ability of being able to replace a lightbulb, when they had first met fifteen years earlier.

"Sounds good. You can send Ishy back down, if you're really worried about him causing more trouble up there"

Scully carried the grocery bag into the kitchen, placed it on the counter and removed a couple of items before heading up to check on William. Mulder was relaxing on the sofa, feet up and TV on; a basketball game playing on mute.

"Will do"

Scully grabbed a couple of wash cloths and a towel from the closet in the upstairs hallway.

She could hear William splashing around and hoped that Ishmael wasn't in the tub with him; it had happened in the past, much to Scully's shock and horror. She pushed the bathroom door open with her foot and saw him blowing bubbles at Ishy, who was biting futily at them and then one landed on his nose and William began to laugh, trying to brush it off but only managing to add more suds.

"Here..." She handed him a wash cloth, and put the towel on the rack across from the them "use this to clean it off his face, baby"

William leaned over the side of the bathtub and wiped the cloth over Ishmael's face and nose, almost jumping out of his skin when the dog sneezed and shook it's head in response.

"Whoa! Sorry, Ishy"

"It's OK. I just don't think he likes the bubbles. How about we send him back down to daddy?"

William nodded, and Scully pulled the door open wider from her squatting position next to the tub and shooed Ishmael out of the bathroom.

"Put your jammies on before you come back down for dinner. Okay, baby?" Scully handed him the clean wash cloth, and smiled.

"Yupp" William grinned back.

Scully found Mulder in the kitchen, filling up a tall glass with tap water while he settled his breathing pattern.

"Where have you and Ishmael been?"

"We went for a jog... on the beach. You didn't need me did you?" Mulder answered, coyly but with a hint of concern.

Scully narrowed her eyes at him, he was still wearing the black tee (which did look kinda sweaty and wet) and old grey basketball shorts that he had changed into after their trip down to the beach and his face was flushed. Mulder had taken the free time before dinner, while Scully was distracted with William to head down to the beach.

"No. Just wondered where you were..." Scully smiled "I'm going to start dinner now"

"Would you like me to help?"

"Would you like to help me?"

"Absolutely!" Mulder whispered in her ear, as he slipped his arms around her waist.

"Good"

"What can I do for you?"

"This..." Scully handed him a large fresh chicken breast for him to prepare "needs to be cut up into smaller pieces"

"Delicious. Why does it have to be slimey?"

"I don't know, Mulder. Can you..." Scully was reaching for a wok in a cupboard above the stove. Mulder reached up over her head grabbing it and placing it on the stove for her "thank you"

"Always" Mulder smiled, and went back to cutting the chicken breast up into bit sized strips.

Scully was back on her health food kick, so it was an all fresh ingredients chicken stir fry for dinner tonight. Thankfully for Mulder (and William. Who also liked ), it was real chicken and not tofu... or just a straight up boring vegetable stir fry.

"I think it's time for the chicken strips to go in the wok. Mulder?"

Mulder could hear the oil sizzling in the wok.

"Ready!"

She stepped aside, watching as he pushed the chicken bits from the wooden cutting board with a knife, into the hot oily wok to cook. Scully tossed the various types of vegetables in; bok choy, peppers, spring onions and mini corn, then poured some soy sauce over the whole thing,

"Will? Dinner is ready"

"I'm playing Spongebob! " William was playing 'Spongebob Squarepants - Yellow Avenger' on his PSP(Playstation Portable).

"Aren't you hungry, buddy?" Mulder asked, standing by the back of the sofa watching him play the game for a moment.

"Eh. A little bit..."

William was laying on the sofa under a cozy, wool blanket, Ishy on the otherside just barely covering his feet with his warm, fluffy body, a fire raging in the fireplace across from them.

"Put the game away now, please!"

"But... I'm winning. See, daddy?"


	7. The Proposal

"Goodnight, William" Scully whispered, as she tucked the blankets around William so he was all snug and comfy, kissed his forehead.

"Mm..." William giggled, sleepily, wrapping his tiny arms around Scully's neck, and kissing her cheek "Goodnight, Mommy"

Ishmael was curled up, asleep, on the floor next to the bed; protecting his best friend. Scully turned around and smiled at the image before her, dimming the lights in the bedroom on her way out. Very occassionally, she couldn't believe how lucky she had gotten with Mulder and William in her life.

Mulder was standing at the end of the hallway, waiting, as Scully walked out of William's bedroom and right into him and his firm, broad chest. She huffed, looked up at him and saw something in his eyes, she wasn't sure what it was but expected it to be revealed soon.

"He's becoming more and more like you every day, Mulder" She sighed, slipping her arms around his waist, and running her hands up and down his sides. Scully always felt cozy and safe in Mulder's embrace.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Soo..." He turned Scully around in his arms, and carefully walked her down the stairs.

"Yes?" Scully said, questioningly, looking back over her shoulder.

"I wanna show you something, but I'm going to need you to relinqiush a tiny bit of that control you love so much. Is that okay?"

"It depends"

"Depends on what, exactly?" Mulder smiled.

It had always amused Mulder what excuses the controlling side of Scully could come up with. And there had been some doozies over the years; from needing to be home for the online release of a new issue of the American Medical Journal, to forgetting a sweater, to making sure William wasn't coming down with a chest infection (it was a minor cough, but they had missed out on a rare date night he'd planned weeks in advance). But this was too important and no amount of "but we can't" and "what if something happens" was going to stop Mulder from getting Scully to where he wanted her tonight.

"Well, on..." Scully said pointedly, and then continued "whether or not I need - where are you taking me, Mulder?"

"Trust me, Scully. You don't need anything, and we're not going far. So, just breathe and let me lead... just for tonight, then you can have all of that control back"

Mulder walked Scully, by the hand, down the stairs through the kitchen and out into the backyard; there were twinkling candle lanterns hung along both sides of the stone pathway, lighting their way down to the edge of the property overlooking the beach.

Mulder came to a sudden stop and Scully stumbled forward, because he insisted that she keep her eyes closed once they left the house and to make sure she did he covered them with his own large right hand, his left hand resting on her hip and his chin ghosting the top of her head, as he stood behind her.

"You can open your eyes now!" Mulder removed his hand from her eyes with a flourish, beaming like an idiot.

"Yeah, thanks. Might of been more helpful-"

Scully was stunned into silence because there were at least a hundred tea light candles arranged in the shape of a heart on the white sandy beach just below them, and a large picnic blanket spread out in the middle underneath their giant rainbow beach umbrella.

"So? What do you think?"

"Mulder, it's beautiful. You did this for me?"

"Just like you..." Mulder whispered in her ear, and kissed her temple "Scully, I would do anything for you"

Mulder put his arm around her waist, turning her around slightly and Scully threw her left arm over his shoulder, hugging him tightly.

"You didn't have to do this. I mean, it's gorgeous and we're definitely going to enjoy it but you didn't have to go through all of this trouble... for me"

"I know. I wanted to do this for you. You deserve it! You do so much for me and Will... every single day. We're on vacation and you're still doing everything for us. So, I thought you deserved a-"

Scully rose up on her tiptoes, kissing Mulder (to shut him up) and his hands instinctively fell to her waist pulling her body close to his. She looked over his shoulder up at the house, somewhat concerned, and he followed her gaze.

"I'm not sure about-"

"Scully, don't"

"It's just... Is Will safe in the house alone?"

"Of course he is. The house is locked, Ishy is up there with him and we'll just be down there...

Mulder pointed to the beach. It wasn't that far, the house would be in view the whole time and Ishmael would alert them if anything was wrong. He rubbed her back, reassuringly.

... he'll be fine, Scully. I promise. Just relax. This is all for you!"

Mulder turned Scully around, to look at the gorgeous view on the beach again. Scully shivered against him. So, he wrapped his arms around her tiny body from behind and ran his hands up and down her arms, trying to keep her warm. Scully sighed. It was impressive, and she wanted to take this time for her, and them.. without worrying about William.

"It's beautiful, Mulder. Really"

"Come on, let's go... and enjoy it then, shall we?"

"We shall"

They were snuggling together, on the picnic blanket. The sky was a midnight blue color, with silver stars dotting the darkness and there was a gentle cool sea breeze wafting around them. The full moon was reflecting off of the ocean, and the candles lit up the heart shaped area they were cocooned in.

"I can't believe that you put this together without me knowing. I'm impressed"

"It actually wasn't all that difficult, once I convinced you to let me go to store without you" Mulder grinned.

It suddenly hit Scully, that he had manipulated her so well throughout the day and it made the whole thing even more impressive because it hadn't occurred to her that that was what he was doing.

Apparently, you can take the man out of the FBI but not the FBI out of the man.

"I don't know whether to be thankful or terrified at this turn of events"

"Thankful, works for me"

"Thankful it is" Scully giggled.

Mulder had managed to put together a great looking spread for them; there were his ubiquitous sunflower seeds, a wooden board with a variety of cheese and crackers, bits of fruit and pieces of dark chocolate (her favourite). He poured (what she noted was expensive) champagne into two cheap plastic flutes (it was so Mulder, that it almost made her laugh out loud) and handed one carefully to Scully.

"It's a nice night, don't you think?" Mulder asked, tenatively.

"Mmm..." Scully mumbled, while taking a sip of her champagne and looking around the deserted beach.

It was just after 9PM, so it was quiet and peaceful on this stretch of the beach.

Mulder popped a couple of sunflower seeds, and Scully delicately placed a piece of dark chocolate into her mouth (which caused him to choke on his champagne). He leaned over and gently brushed a bit of her unruly, long wavy red hair from off of her pale freckled shoulder. She sucked in a deep breath at his touch, and he took the opportunity to lean in closer... kissing her neck, softly.

"I love you" Mulder ran his pouty bottom lip up her neck, past her jawline and breathed his confession against the corner of her lips (that were wet with expensive champagne) teasingly before pulling back and munching down on a cracker with two different cheeses on it.

"I love you, too"

They fell into a comfortable silence, there on the blanket... occasionally sipping their champagne and eating cut up bits of fruit, just enjoying their time together.

"Do you remember when I gave you that ring?" Mulder said, breaking the silence and looking down at the silver band, sapphire (with two diamonds either side of it) ring on her finger.

"Of course" Scully smiled fondly, at the memory. It was a lovely surprise at the time.

It happened three years ago on her 40th birthday, and came as quiet a surprise... actually, a lot about that morning came as a surprise. William had toddled in on Mulder giving Scully a very different gift before he gave her the ring.

"Scully..." he carefully took her left hand in both of his larger ones, running his left thumb in figure eights on the top of her soft, delicate tiny hand "marry me?"

"I'm sorry... what? Please, tell me you're kidding!?"

"Um, only if you're about to say no" Mulder smiled nervously and squeezed Scully's hands, lightly.

"No..."

"Huh?"

"Oh, Mulder. I don't mean no to your question... I'm just shocked. I didn't think this was something we would ever find ourselves doing. It never felt like us, do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"I think so? Jesus. I fucked up, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't fuck up! This is lovely, and I am saying yes" Scully nodded, with a grin on her ruby red lips.

"Really? Scully, I never wanted you to feel like this wasn't an option for us. It was always something I had planned on asking you, I just wanted it to be a surprise and for us to be solid, and far away from the darkness of our past"

"Yes, really. You've really given this some thought, haven't you?"

"Well, I've only been thinking about it for the last seven years or so"

"Wow! That's a long time, Mulder"

"Is it?"

"Kinda... and I love you for it"

"Good"

"So, we're really going to do the whole wedding thing?" Scully exhaled.

She sighed happily at the new meaning bestowed upon the ring she hadn't taken off since he had gifted her with it years ago, before removing her right hand from his grasp and resting it on his stubbly cheek, leaning forward and pressing her lips, softly to his pouty bottom lip.

"You said yes, so yes... we're doing the wedding thing. Sooner, rather than later... if that's OK with you"

"It's more than OK with me. Thank you, Mulder. For everything"

His hands fell to her hips, gripping them tightly for a moment and then letting them slip around her waist, pulling her to him in a comfortable embrace... hands clasped and resting on the small of her back, where her rebelous Ourobors tattoo called home.

"Wanna go for a swim?" Mulder asked, after giving Scully a moment to aborb what had just happened, and how big of a step they were both about to take in their relationship.

"Won't it be cold?"

"I'm not sure, it was the one thing I couldn't control about tonight but if it is... I'll keep you warm, Scully. Always!"

"And I'm the control freak?"

"Yes, you're still the control freak in this family" Mulder laughed, as he scooped Scully up and carried her to the waters edge, she squealed and wriggled in his strong arms.

He tried to dip her backwards into the ocean, but she hooked her arms around his shoulders and neck, pushing her body up and flush against his... it reminded him of when William was a baby, fussing and didn't want to be put down. Mulder thought about how happy Will was going to be when they told him the news. This was the final piece of the puzzle, for Mulder. And their little family.

"Mulder. Stop, please! It's late and I don't want to get wet-" Scully pleaded, to no avail.

"Hey, we're celebrating! And I'm getting you wet one way or another tonight, gorgeous"

Mulder slowly lowered himself into the lukewarm water, finding a loophole in Scully's plan to stay dry (she realized in that moment that she had made a mistake in clinging to him harder, because it just made it easier for him to get her wet) and bounced up and down, carefully dipping them both down into the ocean further each time.

"Dammit"

"Surrender, Scully" Mulder winked, suggestively.

Scully's long, wavy red hair started to get progressively wetter and stuck to her pale, lithe back and shoulders.

"Oh, really? Is that really how you wanna play this?" Scully laughed from deep within her belly, peircing the calm silence as she splashed sea water up into Mulder's face, with a massive grin on her face.

"I knew you'd come around. Ready to go deeper?" Mulder smirked and bounced up once, preparing them to go deeper.

"No! No no no!"

"Wrong answer..."

"Yes" Scully answered, grinning cheekily.

She knew this game well, and there was no reason to drag it out longer than nessecary... especially since she wanted it to happen too.

"Good girl"

He began to take steps towards the darkness of the sky, the moon and stars above them creating a halo around her head and making the ring on her finger sparkly. The salty air from the ocean encircling them, in it's bitterness. Scully was beyond thrilled, about how the night had gone.. and was still going.

Scully rolled her hips against Mulder's causing him to buck into her core roughly, eliciting a deep throaty moan in response. He brushed her wet, tangled hair from off of her shoulder and kissed behind her ear, down her neck (marking her clavicle with a hickey) and bit her pale freckled shoulder gently. He undid the strings of her teal bikini top, around her neck leaving the tie around her ribs and letting it fall from her chest revealing her to him.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Mulder asked, while kissing down her bare chest.

"Mm.. absolutely. Thank god, the water is warm-ish..." Scully said, as she ran her manicured nails up and down his back, digging them into his shoulder blades "otherwise this wouldn't be turning me on so much"

"Yeah. Cold water would've benched us both, I think"

Mulder rubbed his thumb across the front of Scully's teal bikini bottoms, slipping his index and middle finger underneath the material and then slowly and teasingly inside of her. He could feel how warm and wet... and excited she was, right now and it made him harder.

She lifted herself up, arms still looped around his neck (breast pressed to his bare chest), so he could get a better angle. Mulder buried his face in Scully's chest again, devouring the freckles dotting her upper chest, his fingers frantic but precisely pumping in and out of her, while she bit back a moan and moved her hips to his rhythm.  
Scully ran her fingers through his hair, breathing heavily against his ear and came undone in a burst of light. Mulder rested his chin on her shoulder and she shuddered around his fingers and lowered herself back down, legs turning to jelly around his hips.

"Scully?"

"Mhmm... yes?" Scully breathed out, as she regained her composure.

"Thank you-"

"For what?"

"For being mine" Mulder said, honestly.

Mulder let go of Scully so she could slip down his body, to stand on her own two feet and retie her bikini top. She leaned forward giving him a sloppy, passionate kiss for making this night all about her even though he clearly wanted a release as well. He pulled her close again, his hard on caught between them and squeezed her arse roughly.

"Did you enjoy your time off from babysitting us?"

"It was unbelievable and just what I needed, Mulder" Scully smiled, gratefully.

"I'm glad. Let's get you out of here before you catch a chill, and all my hard work getting you relaxed... is ruined"

"Sounds good"

Mulder blew out all of the candles, while Scully dumped everything into the middle of the large picnic blanket and tugged it into one of those movie-style hobo sacks minus the stick to carry it with. As she struggled with it, he hugged her to keep the chill of the air away from her wet skin and grabbed the full blanket from her to carry. Scully pulled her denim short shorts back on and her long sleeved, sweater and followed Mulder back up to their vacation home. Mulder left the tied up blanket inside, near the glass sliding backdoor, watching as Scully turned the kitchen tap on, to fill a plastic tumbler up with water and then down it immediately (like their activities had dehydrated her). She looked stunning, the moonlight streaming through the kitchen window and landing on her.

"God, Scully. You're absolutely stunning, and I really don't deserve you"

"Shut up, Mulder. Of course you do!"

They walked upstairs. Scully tiptoed further down the hallway still kind of wet and sandy, a towel clutched to her bikini clad body and Mulder thought about how she didn't seem to care about getting sand all over the house now and stifled a chuckle. Mulder was completely naked, his wet basketball shorts pressed to his crotch.

Scully checked in on William who was fast asleep (and unharmed, even though they had left him alone for nearly two hours), and tangled in his bedspread and sheets.

"Sweet dreams, my little bullfrog" Scully whispered into the room, turning the light off completely and turned back around to leave but was stopped by Mulder who was still staring at their little miracle.

"Let's go to bed, Scully. We can tell him the good news in the morning"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first posted this story I kept the summary vague, so as not to spoil this particular chapter. I hope you all are surprised by what happened.


	8. The Beginning

"Mommy..." William whispered, as he crawled up onto the bed between his parents and softly brushed Scully's long red hair off her face and out of her eyes "It's time to wake up, Mommy"

"Shh! Come here, buddy. Mommy and I were up very late last night... she just needs to sleep a little bit longer. OK?" Mulder said, voice husky and quiet as he patted William's flannel Pokémon pajama clad arm and back.

He would never grow tired of the feeling of his son breathing in and out, in and out... which in turn was proof of his and Scully's undeniable love. William was the embodiment of how pure their relationship had been in the past, currently was and always would be in the future. He was their future! So full of life, so full of potential... and safe from the worries of the life they used to lead as FBI agents back in the day.

"Mm, but why?" William carefully turned around to face his father, nose scrunched up and a million questions in his ocean colored eyes.

Mulder lifted the doona (and sheet) up so William could wriggle down under the covers and cocoon himself between both of his parents. He was the whole to their two halves made complete. The perfect combination of all of their best (and if we're being honest - their worst) qualities.

"Because..." Mulder stated quietly, as William cuddled up against his warm, bare chest (after quickly drying off, he had only managed to pull on pair of grey boxer briefs before crashing next to Scully on their large comfortable bed) "we love her, remember? And she deserves to sleep in once and a while for taking care of us, don't ya think?"

"She's the bestest Mommy in the whole wide Universe!"

"I concur, and we're very lucky to have her..."

William yawned unexpectedly and his eyelids fluttered shut very briefly, then snapped open again just as quickly.

"Are you still sleepy, Will?" Mulder asked, smiling and mussing his son's unruly auburn hair.

"Mhm, I dreamed I was lost on a farm again..." William blinked rapidly, recalling the semi-recurring dream he'd been having over recent months "and when I woke up, it was dark and I was alone"

"Ishy was with you though, right?"

"Yeaah, but you and mommy were gone. And I got scareded- don't tell mommy!"

"I won't. I'm sorry we scared you..." Mulder felt terrible, and of course Scully was right to be worried about leaving him alone, even for a short period of time and even though they were still close by "I just wanted to do something nice for mommy. Something special, to show her how much we really appreciate her"

"What did you do?" William wondered, curious about the events that he had missed while he was asleep.

"Why don't we wait until mommy wakes up, huh? But I really think that she will want to tell you herself"

"Mmm, what are you boys talking 'bout so early in the morning?" Scully breathed out, eyes still closed as she stretched her legs to workout the kinks that had been made during the previous nights shenanigans down on the beach. She was wearing Mulder's old Knicks tee which rose up, revealing a pair of black cotton boy-leg underwear and she immediately yanked the shirt down again to cover herself up. It was all she had managed to slip into before crawling into bed exhausted.

"It's..." Mulder craned his neck to check the alarm clock on the nightstand "9:47, Scully. Jesus, when was the last time we slept in this late on the weekend?" and laughed.

"Never?" Scully sighed softly, eyes flickering open slowly (struggling against the intense morning sunlight) as she turned to face Mulder and William.

"WAKE UP MOMMY!"

"Oof. Volume, Will. Remember?" Mulder cringed and rubbed his temples, trying to stop the beginnings of a champagne induced headache from forming before he could down some aspirin.

"I'm awake, baby. Tell me, did you sleep OK?" Scully cooed, carefully brushing William's messy auburn hair out of his ocean colored eyes and off of his freckle dotted face so she could see him better.

As much as Mulder had insisted that William would be OK without them, as much she enjoyed being with Mulder and not getting interrupted every three and a half minutes (yes, she had it timed at this point), she had still woken up worried about leaving their six year old alone in the house for as long as they did while they spent some much needed private grown up time together.

William rested his tiny hand on her cheek (mimicking the placement of his mother's hand on his), staring so deeply into her icy blue eyes that Scully felt it (actually felt it in her soul - the connection that had formed between them while he was growing inside of her - that she almost cried right then and there) and furrowed his brow at her before looking over at his father who winked to show that he would keep the secret about his dream being scary, and then nodded enthusiastically in response.

"See? Will is big enough to look after himself..." Mulder tickled his son, mercilessly, to break the confusing (to him, anyway) tension that had quickly built up in the master bedroom "might even be able to live on his own soon, right?" he finished, suddenly lifting up William's pajama shirt and blowing a raspberry on his belly.

"Stop... STOP STOP STOP!"

William began to laugh, kicking his legs wildly and reaching his arms out towards his mother in a futile attempt to escape his father's grasp and snuggle up to her instead but Mulder refused to let go of him and rolled them closer to Scully, gathering the both of them into a great big family bear hug and making William giggle more. Scully scooped William into her loving arms and kissed his forehead, repeatedly until he tried to pull away from her too.

"Uh huh..." William mumbled, breathlessly and suddenly remembered that he wanted all of the details about what his folks were upto while he slept "Wha- what was the special surprise... that daddy made for you?" he puffed out.

"Well, you know how Aunt Monica and Uncle John are married?" Scully asked, not entirely sure if William really understood the concept of marriage at this tender age, considering they weren't married themselves (therefore, never spoke about it) and the fact that the only wedding they had ever been to as a family was that of their former fellow agents at the FBI who they were still extremely good friends with, Monica Reyes and John Doggett.

William was 18 months old, when John and Monica got married in a quiet little ceremony at a D.C. courthouse with only Scully and Mulder there as their witnesses (the reception was the following weekend with other friends and family on a beautiful piece of land that was set up for such events) and they wanted him to be their ring bearer. So Scully had put him in a little suit and they all watched him toddle over (with Mulder following closely behind in case he fell or took off, potentially ruining the moment) with bated breath as Mulder slipped the rings into his tiny, chubby hand at the last minute to handover to the soon-to-be newlyweds.

"Yeah..." William said, skeptically.

"Would you like it if daddy and I were married too? We could have a party... invite your cousins, aunts and uncles and grandma, of course!"

"YEAH! Do I get presents?" William asked, rather seriously, cracking Mulder up.

Scully grinned (utterly amused by the thought process of a six year old), leaning a tiny bit closer to William and placed a gentle kiss on his sweet little cheek.

"It will be a very special day for you too, so I think we could arrange that. Would you walk me down the aisle, because grandpa isn't able to?" Scully said, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes at the thought of her dearly departed father - William Scully Sr. For whom son was named, at least partially.

"Yes!" William went quiet for a moment, thinking it over some more and then smiled "Can Ishy do something important at the party?" he finally asked.

Ishmael quietly nosed the door to their master bedroom open at the sound of his name and slowly padded over to the side of the bed, barking softly at them - almost like he understood what had been asked and was agreeing to participate.

"Maybe. I suppose we'll have to think of something for him to do, yeah?"

"Yay! I love you, mommy!" William beamed, still firmly squished in between his folks who had started to make moon eyes at each other for reasons that were completely lost on him.

"I love you too, Will" Scully smiled down at him, arms protectively wrapped around William. Sometimes, if she tried really hard Scully could still smell that newborn smell wafting from the crown of his head and it would inevitably melt her heart all over again.

Mulder had been, surreptitiously, tracing circles on Scully's hipbone for... oh, the last five minutes of this distinctly G rated conversation and she had been doing a really fantastic job of ignoring the feelings that it was stirring up in her lower belly because their young son was there. She shot him a warning look over the top of William's head, but Mulder didn't stop. Apparently, it had turned into a game for him and Scully was now thinking of ways to pay him back, tenfold.

William scrambled out from between them as they kissed above him, and followed Ishmael back into his room. Or so Scully hoped, because she was busy at the moment and didn't want to have come downstairs to a mess or them missing from the house all together.

"So... what do you say, Scully? Are you ready to officially become Mrs Spooky?" Mulder questioned as he lightly ran his right hand over Scully's Ouroboros tattoo (still in awe, after all of these years), lifting her thigh over his and grabbing her arse roughly.

"Hmm..." Scully sucked thoughtfully on her bottom lip, weighing up her options and dragging her answer out, intentionally trying to make Mulder nervous (it was only fair, she thought wickedly) "Was there really any other way this was going to end?" she raised her left hand, the newly minted sapphire and diamond engagement ring... watching as it shimmered and sparkled in the sunlight.

Yeah, there was definitely no other way to begin the next chapter of their lives together.

"Oh, that... was so... mean. Come here, gorgeous!"

Scully giggled, while pressing her - now humming with desire - body against his burgeoning hardness, carefully nudging her head over onto Mulder's pillow and kissed him with almost fifteen years worth of anticipation and longing... and love, of course!


	9. The Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be an entirely different chapter than it turned out to be, so I'm calling it a bonus chapter and what was initially this chapter will be the next one. So, it's all still going to be in the story... it's just this chapter was longer than intended and means I had to split it up.

Mulder softly kissed Scully on the cheek, his large right hand resting on her flat stomach under her (well, techinically his) Knicks shirt his thumb making half moon shapes just below her belly button and whispered a string of naughty but loving words in her ear before silently hopping out of bed to go pee and brush his teeth in the ensuite bathroom. It had been a very long... but incredible night. Scully had been utterly shocked by his proposal but also so so happy and he was thrilled that he could still surprise her after all of these years together.

Scully heard the shower come on and smiled up at the white ceiling (the wooden fan was stilled but the morning light cut across the ceiling marking it with little star shapes), her whole body was still tingling from the night before and the intense make out session that just happened. They were actually engaged now. She held up her left hand to look at the ring again. Mulder had told her, when he gave it to her for her birthday a few years ago, that she was the sapphire and he and Will were the diamonds on either side. She had smiled at his thoughtfulness and kissed him deeply then. Now, she thought about how excited her mother would be when they told her the news tomorrow.

Maggie Scully hadn't pushed them to get married, but she also hadn't been subtle about wanting them to take the next step in their relationship even back when they weren't an actual couple (which always tickled Mulder but made Scully uncomfortable). When Scully had fallen pregnant with William and marriage was never brought up, she had finally accepted that they would always do things their own way. She knew it would likely happen eventually and was finally happy to wait without interfering again.

Scully rolled out of bed, slipped on a pair of neon orange three quarter sweatpants (which coincidently happened to match the almost rubbed bare image of a basketball on the front of the faded dark blue Knicks tee; she looked like a pylon but a comfortable pylon) and left Mulder to shower alone. She would shower and get ready for the day after she had checked on William and they'd had breakfast.

She walked downstairs to see what their inquisitive little bullfrog was getting up to in the absence of any parental supervision. It really could have been anything, which worried her more than mere words could express. Scully had found William in a myriad of confusing, troubling and mysterious situations since the time he could walk. Thankfully, he was yet to seriously injury himself but the occasional wall or piece of furniture hadn't been so lucky. William was his father's son, after all. And Scully wouldn't have either of them any other way even if it was stressful (and costly) at times.

"Do you want breakfast now?" Scully called out, over the loud volume of the television, from the bottom step.

William was sitting cross legged on the couch, watching cartoons on the flat screen TV that was hung above the fireplace, Ishmael was next to him. It was a ridiculous image that almost made Scully laugh out loud. Ishy barked causing William to turn his head, and watch as his mother entered the kitchen and opened the stainless steel refrigerator to retrieve the large jug of iced tea she had made the day before.

"WHAT?" William shouted.

"Turn the volume on the TV down a bit, Will. You know, it really doesn't need to be that loud... because you're sitting so close. It's unnecessary"

Ishmael jumped off of the couch and joined Scully in the kitchen by the tall bar stools only slightly in her way. She noticed the sound of the TV lower considerably and smiled to herself. It had taken years for Scully to get Mulder to listen to her, but Will was slightly easier when it came to that... he would always listen to her, unless he was cranky and then all bets were off (but she was self-aware enough to know that that was a trait he had inherited from her and was honestly just grateful that he listened at all at this point).

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, MOMMY?"

"Hmm, now I think we have to find the volume button on you!" Scully laughed, and repeated her previous question "I asked if you would like something to eat... for breakfast?"

"But I don't have a volume button!" William lifted his pajama shirt up, looking down and pointing to prove it, then added "Can I have fruit loops again?" all puppy dog eyes and adorable, leaning over the back of the couch.

Scully looked at William shaking her head, silently indicating fruit loops would not be an option this morning and also at the ridiculousness of him showing her he definitely didn't have any buttons, trying to stifle another giggle.

"How about... yogurt? With pieces of yummy fresh fruit in it?"

"Yogurt, Scully? Really?" Mulder asked jokingly, smiling mischievously at her (a side affect of the morning make out session) his wet hair sticking up all over the place and only wearing a pair of denim jeans, as he rounded the corner to the kitchen.

"Yes, really! As a doctor, I think you two could stand to eat a little healthier..." Scully said in her best stern Doctor voice "and something tells me that we'll be celebrating with far too much artery clogging junk food later" she finished with a full face grimace.

She had tried to get them both to eat healthier over the years but it usually failed after a few days and a lot of whining... from Mulder. William enjoyed food as much as she did, so he would give in quickly after she'd threaten "bed without dinner".

"You would be correct, babe!" Mulder winked.

Scully opened the refrigerator again, bending down to grab the containers of various fruit and a big tub of bee pollen yogurt. Mulder took the opportunity to gently slap her arse, as he walked past, which caused her to gasp.

"Mulder!" Scully admonished, quietly, placing the yogurt and fruit on the countertop so she could get some bowls for them to use. Mulder tried to suppress a giggle while pouring some iced tea into a tall glass, and just grinned at her in response.

"What's on, Will?" Mulder asked, as he joined his son on the couch while Scully got a light breakfast ready for them.

"Powerpuff Girls!"

"Ooh fun! What's our favourite girl, Blossom, up to in this one? Kickin' serious ass - butt, kickin' serious butt is she?" Mulder corrected himself, praying Scully hadn't heard his curse word slip up. He still wasn't sure how ass was a naughty word but respected her desire for William not to use certain words, whether or not he thought they were good or bad wasn't the point.

"Blossom didn't want to hurt the bigfoot but Buttercup knocked the him out anyways, that's why he's asleep on the couch. They think he's Uncle Eugene!" William quickly informed his father.

"Hey, Scully... there's a freaking Sasquatch in this cartoon!"

"Well, it is a kids TV show" Scully deadpanned, as she collected three small bowls out of the cupboard for their light breakfast.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means, Mulder!"

Mulder pulled William onto his lap, and whispered "It means, that mommy thinks daddy still acts like a kid" cuddling him closer. Will giggled and snuggled further into his fathers warm embrace.

Mulder brushed William's hair out of his face, kissing his temple and breathing him in; he remembered the night Scully went into labour and the moment - nine and a half hours later - when their son was born. The fleeting thought of having another child entered his mind just as Ishmael suddenly jumped up onto the couch next to them, curling up into a comfortable position in the spot that was previously taken by William, distracting him with low whines to be patted.

"Do you think I act like a kid, Will?" Mulder lifted up William's little legs, jiggling them jovially.

William thought about it for a second, tilted his head up to look at his father, his brows furrowed.

"Sometimes!"

Scully suddenly started laughing, as she spooned bee pollen yogurt into the bowls on the countertop, having heard Wiliam's honest reply to his father's question from her spot in the kitchen.

"Oh, is that right? Well, you guys are just plain mean!" Mulder sighed dramatically, feigning insult (proving Scully's point - that he really is just a big kid at heart).

William looked like him but he was more like Scully in personality, mood and cleverness and that meant Mulder was technically living with two Scully's and it was never fun they "ganged up" on him like this.

Scully placed the three bowls on placemats on the dining table, and said "Breakfast is served"

Mulder stood up, lifting William with him and tipped him backwards over his shoulder as he walked them both the few short steps over to the table just behind the living room couch.

"PUT ME DOWN!" William demanded, through fits of giggles.

Mulder tickled the backs of Will's knees, acquiescing when his he received a tiny fist to his lower back and swung him back over his shoulder, placing him down carefully on the chair at the head of the table, before taking the seat to the left of him.

"It looks delicious, Scully"

It did... even if Mulder wasn't completely convinced of it's ability to keep you healthy.

"And healthy for you!" Scully replied happily, as she slid side plates beside their bowls with pieces of melon on it, sitting down to the right of William and across from Mulder.

Scully carefully scooped some muesli (from a small side dish, that was between them on the table) into her yogurt and then sprinkled in whole blueberries and cut up bits of strawberries (from another, slightly bigger, side dish) and did the same with William's before offering the fruit and muesli to Mulder who picked up some strawberries and plopped them into his bowl.

"Mmm..." Mulder enthused, as he had a big mouthful.

William looked over at his father, dubiously, before eating a spoonful of the yogurt mix.

"Yuck!" Will sputtered out, face scrunched up in disgust, dropping his spoon back into the bowl.

Mulder stared across the table at Scully, unblinking and hoping she wouldn't take it personally.

To Scully's credit, she ignored the reaction and continued eating her yummy and healthy breakfast.

"I think we should go somewhere nice for lunch to celebrate..." Mulder suggested, grabbing Scully's hand across the dining room table, leaning forward and kissing the inside of her right wrist in an attempt at an apology for their sons actions "Sorry, babe. What do you think, Will?"

 


End file.
